to appear as an American highway. A total of thirty American cars and fifteen American semi-trucks were imported from both England and the United States to be used in the film. Release The film's production company, the independent United Kingdom distributor Random Harvest, sold the film for distribution to Buena Vista International under their subsidiary Four Horseman Films. Octane premiered in the United States at the CineVegas Film Festival on 25 June 2003. It was subsequently given a theatrical release in the United Kingdom on 14 November 2003. Critical reception On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 17% approval rating based on reviews from 6 critics. Scott Foundas of Variety noted: "Even were the performers not so disinterested, Volk’s screenplay not so hopelessly didactic about its “message” and the Luxembourg setting not so suggestive of tax-credit incentives run amok, it might be hard to watch Octane with a straight face...[its] murky, frequently under-lit widescreen lensing and comatose cutting are the perfect complements to pic's overall dreariness." Adam Keen of Film Review awarded the film three stars out of four, noting: "Octane is a thriller that fits loosely in a genre occupied by Duel, Roadkill and Jeepers Creepers, is a suspenseful, visceral feast that preys on our worst fears of the open road." TV Guide awarded the film one out of five stars, calling it an "incoherent horror flick." Jamie Russell of the BBC wrote that the film "plays like an American studio picture," and criticized its "incomprehensible" script, ultimately awarding it one out of five stars. William Thomas of Empire praised the film's first act, but added: "Its failing, surprisingly for a film so perfect for B-movie shocks, is pretension. [Director] Adams seems reluctant to simply tell the story and gets muddled in an onslaught of Lynchian surrealism. Unlike Lynch, though, the weirdness is neither imaginative nor elegant enough to spark interest in what it actually means, and the third act - with Jonathan Rhys-Meyers as another effete weirdo - is not only dull, but also utterly baffling." Mike Goodridge of Screen Daily wrote of the film: "Adams has a confident visual style, effectively capturing Senga's moments of dozy consciousness before nodding off. Indeed her half-awake, half-asleep state could have been used to more dramatic effect to heighten the ambiguity of the plot a la Gaslight or Suspicion. Nevertheless, Stowe's strident and underused screen presence makes it eminently watchable and